Bolder brews go mainstream as taste buds change

About 25 years ago, American beer drinkers’ palates could be defined in two words: light lager.

Over the next two decades, small brewers began crafting more complex and alcoholic beers that gathered devotees, but the segment did little to eat into the domination of the Bud/Miller/Coors products of lighter taste. But in the last five years, brewers across the spectrum have said, the taste — and, more importantly, spending habits — of alcohol consumers have shifted measurably, leading even mainstream breweries to put an emphasis on bigger, bolder products.